The Damned
by edwalk86
Summary: She was running. Hearing the voice of one of her pursuers, she pushed herself harder, running so that she could escape. She soon found out though that escape was impossible. NaruSaku.
1. An unfortunate meeting

Wow, I've been going over my old stories, and I've made it through quite a lot in a day. This is a reposting of my story The Damned. I'm going to post more about this in the next chapter, so for now, enjoy the story.

"Speaking current tense"

_Thinking current tense_

This is fanfic. I don't own Naruto.

* * *

**The Damned**

She was running. Running so that she could escape.

"Get back here, you bitch!"

Hearing the voice of one of her pursuers, she pushed herself harder. The forest she was in was dense. The trees were ancient, sprouting from the earth to create a maze of bark and leaves. The undergrowth was thick, making it hard for anyone in the forest to progress, unless they cut a path through it. This made it hard to lose her pursuers, as even though she did not use a knife to make her way through the undergrowth, it no doubt left a trail of crushed grass and broken branches for her pursuers to follow.

"Spread out you idiots! She can't have made it far!" bellowed the leader of the group in pursuit of the girl. Around the man responses of approval, and anger, could be heard, as the small group spread out, widening their search.

Panicking from how close the voice was, she failed to notice some roots protruding from the ground. Snaring her foot in the roots, she lost her balance, falling to the earth. Unable to stop, she threw her hands out to soften the fall, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth, trying to stop any sounds of pain from alerting her pursuers to her location.

However, instead of pain from the impact of the fall, the only sensation she felt was that of something hard, yet warm, resting against her stomach. Opening her eyes, a brief swirl of wind caught her attention before control of her body came back. Falling to her knees in the undergrowth next to a giant tree, her arms dropped to her sides while she tried to make sense of what just happened.

_It felt like someone's hand was pressing against my stomach, but it can't have been. I mean, there's no one here. But I definitely felt that. Someone stopped me from falling. But if that was the case, where are they?_

"Boss! Over here!"

Hearing how close her pursuers were now, she knew she had no chance of escape without alerting them to her presence. Searching for a place to hide, she noticed a hollow in the giant tree beside her. Moving with care so as not to make a sound, she squeezed herself into the hiding place, her body now completely incased in the tree.

"Boss, look at this. The grass is trampled."

_Please don't find me. _Bringing her knees closer to her body, her arms wrapped around them, she stared intensely outside the tree, hoping against hope.

"Hmmm... she's close. You, two, move out that way. You're with me Rico."

_Please don't find me._

"We know you're here girl. Come on out. We're not going to hurt you, I promise."

_Please don't find me. _Hearing the snapping of bark under foot, her eyes widened in terror at how close they were.

"We only want to help you girlie. So just come on out, and we can take you back to the others." As the leader of group spoke, she watched as he stepped in front of the hollow, his back turned to her as Rico came alongside him.

"The trail ends here Boss."

Tensing, she willed every part of her body not to make a sound . Seconds seemed like hours as she watched Rico and his Boss stand there.

_Please, please, please, please, please, don't turn around! _She mentally screamed as she watched her pursuers, the people that attacked her village, killing all the men and capturing all the women and children, scan the area around them.

"It's strange Boss. Her trail ends here, but then a second set of tracks appear and disappear alongside hers."

_What! That means I wasn't imaging things!_ Eyes wide in shock, she watched the two talk about this event

"That's impossible. Nobody can appear and disappear."

"A ninja can." Rico replied.

"Hmmmph! That's even less likely. First off, what's a single ninja doing out all the way out here? Second, if it is a ninja, we would have sensed them teleport in and out of the area, if that's what these tracks indicate. Afterall, we're ninja too." Clapping Rico on the shoulder, the Boss moved off to the right, leaving behind his subordinate to continue examining the tracks and surrounding area.

"Continue looking Rico, she can't have gotten far."

"Yes Boss."

_Maybe it was a ninja that helped me before? But like that man just said, what's one doing all the way out here? And why help me? _Feeling tears build up in her eyes, she watched the one named Rico carefully examine the area. _Please, someone, help me._

Shifting around the tracks, Rico continued his examination.

_Hmmm... she was running up to here. Then she tripped on these roots. But then the tracks get muddled up here. She fell, but to her knees? That can't be right. Plus, the tracks show that not all her weight hit the ground. It's like she was held up? And these tracks appear out of nowhere. They move towards the girl, but only a little, then they're gone._

Before Rico could go any further, an ear-piercing scream sounded through the forest, scattering the various birds in the treetops, leaves and small branches falling from their flight.

"Rico!"

Turning, Rico found his Boss emerging from behind some trees, a flustered look on his face. "What was that!"

"I don't know Boss. It came from where Takami and Shuro went to investigate." Looking at his Boss, Rico noted relief, then a sadistic grin spread across his face.

"Good, they found her. Come Rico, let's go." Motioning to Rico, the Boss made for the direction of the scream.

"But Boss, the tracks indicate she went this way. How could she be over there, when it's clear she came this way?"

"How the hell do I know! Weren't you just telling me that someone _'appeared and disappeared.'_ For all we know, someone might have come and tried to help her escape by using a teleportation jutsu. Now let's go. I'm getting sick of this forest. The sooner we wrap this up, the sooner we can sell those women and children and use the money to have some _'fun'_."

Watching his Boss walk away, Rico stood there unable to comprehend what his Boss just said. _He's an idiot! First he tells me it can't be a ninja, then he ignores all reason and says it must be a ninja. As soon as this job is over I'm leaving these idiots._

Getting up to follow his Boss, Rico stopped. Straight ahead of him, huddled in the hollow of a giant tree, the girl he was searching for was staring back out at him. Watching her, he noticed the look of terror and shock in her eyes, the latter, no doubt reflected in his. Straightening himself up from his crouched position, he started to walk over to her.

_Oh no, no, no, no, no! He spotted me! What am I going to do? I have to run! But I can't! He's right there, he'll stop me. He'll catch me! But I can't stay here. If I do he'll come in here and take me. What do I do! No! Someone help me. Please, help me!_

Watching the man named Rico move towards her, she instinctively started backing away from him, trying to put as much room between herself and him as possible, only succeeding in burying herself further into the tree. Closing the distance, she saw him start to reach out to her.

_Nooooo! Please someone help me!_ A look of sheer terror on her face, all she could do was push herself further into the tree, as the man named Rico was about to grab her. Suddenly her face changed to one of surprise, as she watched Rico reel back, a yell of pain escaping his lips, as a kunai now pierced the hand he was about to grab her with.

Sitting there, unable to move from her hiding spot, blood oozed from the wound in Rico's hand, pooling on the forest floor. Mesmerised by the change of events, she watched him remove the kunai from his hand.

Grunting with pain from removing the kunai that was imbedded in his hand, Rico threw the bladed weapon unceremoniously to the ground, mere inches from her current position. Forgetting the girl, Rico scanned around the area trying to find the source of the attack. _Damn it! I didn't even sense the attack till I was hit! Whoever it is, they're good._

Focusing his attention on the surrounding area, a breath he didn't know he was holding escaped his mouth as he watched his Boss move back towards him from the screen of bushes he went through not moments before.

"Hey Boss, we're..." Stopping mid-sentence, Rico's face became even more fearful as he watched his Boss's lifeless body stumble, then fall to the ground, a kunai lodged in the back of his skull. Staring at the body, Rico took a step back, only to freeze as a kunai came to rest on his throat.

"Don't move." The voice that came from behind him froze all the blood in his body. "All your friends are dead. You're all alone."

"Please don't kill me. I'll give you anything you want, just don't kill me." Fear taking over from the situation he was in, Rico pleaded with whoever it was that held his life in his hands.

"You've already given me what I want."

"But I haven't given you anything yet." Rico replied.

"Yes you have. Your fear."

Within the hollow, the girl watched as a spray of blood erupted from Rico's neck as his now lifeless body slumped to the ground, revealing the mystery person who killed all her pursuers. Looking at her saviour, she noted that his face was hidden behind a mask, the pattern adorning it vaguely resembling that of a wolf.

"You can come out now."

Getting a shock from the words spoken to her, she scrabbled quickly out of the hollow, grabbing the discarded kunai covered in blood, only to retreat back into the hollow, holding her new weapon in both hands, pointed towards the person who had just saved her.

"Who... Who are you!" Half-screaming, the girl kept her eyes locked on the person, clutching tighter to the kunai as if it was her only lifeline.

Watching him as he dusted himself off, she saw that as well as the mask, his clothing covered his whole body. He was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, combat vest, gloves, pants and boots, with a sword strapped to his back and a pouch on his right leg that he placed his now blood free kunai into.

"I won't hurt you." Stepping over the dead body of Rico, he slowly made his way towards her, his voice as calm as possible given the situation while trying to keep his body language as non-threatening as possible.

"I'm a ninja from Konoha, an Anbu actually. You're very lucky I was in the area, I don't think those guys were the friendly type." Chuckling a little from his joke, he stopped a few paces from the hollow, crouching down to get a better look at the girl. "Why don't you come on out of there and we can head back to your village, hmmm?"

"Stay back!"

"Look, I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm a good guy, so just come on out of there and I can take you back home."

"I said stay back!" Screaming, the girl readied the kunai as if to stab anyone that dared touch her.

"Fine." Pulling back slightly from her scream, the Anbu stood and turned away from the hollow. "I'm trying to help you. But seeing as how I've wasted my time, I'll be going then." Taking a step, he jumped into the trees, disappearing from sight, leaving the girl alone.

Watching the Anbu disappear, the girl waited a few minutes before slowly moving out of the hollow, the bloodied kunai held out in front of her. Looking all around her, she stood up, her back still to the tree, a fearful look adorning her face, as she finally realised what she did.

_Oh no, what have I done! That guy was trying to help me and I threw it back in his face. I have no idea where I am or how to protect myself, and I told the one person willing to help me out here to get lost!_

Panicking, the girl yelled out into the forest. "Please come back! I'm sorry! I need help. Please!" Lowering her head, she whispered. "Come back."

"So, now you want my help."

Jumping from shock, the girl spun around to see the Anbu standing several feet from her, his arms folded across his chest. Even wearing the mask, she could tell that he was not happy.

"I'm sorry. " Her voice meek, she shifted her focus to the ground, ashamed to look at him because of her earlier behaviour.

"It's okay." Unfolding his arms, the Anbu moved towards her. "I understand. You were afraid. Could I have my kunai back now?" Reaching out with his left hand, he waited for her to give him back his kunai.

Moving backwards from his close proximity, she clutched the kunai with both hands, unwilling to release it. "I uh..."

"It's okay. Keep it if it will make you feel safer." Stepping backwards, the Anbu scratched the back of his head. "Look, we better get going. It's gonna be dark soon and it's a bit of a walk back to your village from here." Turning away from her, he started walking back in the direction she came.

"Ummm..." Standing still, the girl watched the Anbu start to make his way through the undergrowth.

"Come on!" Yelling at her, the Anbu indicated with his left arm for her to follow. "We gotta get moving."

"Right! Sorry, I'm coming." Shaking herself out of her trance, the girl moved to catch up with the Anbu. Falling in behind him, she followed him along the invisible path back to her village.

"So?" She asked after several minutes of silence.

"So?" Came the Anbu's reply.

"My name's Haruno Sakura. "

...

"So, what's your name?"

"I can't tell you."

"Huh? Why?"

"As an Anbu, I have no name except for my codename."

"Oh I see. So, wait! Does that mean you have no real name?"

"No. I have a real name. But like I said, as an Anbu I have no name except for my codename."

"So you can't tell me your real name. So what's your codename?"

"My codename is White Wolf, but you can just call me Wolf."

"Okay. It's nice to meet you Wolf."

Stopping, Wolf turned his head a little, looking over his shoulder at Sakura, noting a small smile upon her face.

"It's nice to meet you too, Sakura." Turning back around, Wolf continued the walk through the forest towards the village, Sakura following him.

* * *

Sitting on an old tree trunk, Sakura huddled close to the fire Wolf made as night came and they were forced to make camp in the forest. Staring intensely at her hands as they were illuminated by the fire, the full gravity of the situation finally dawned on Sakura.

Earlier that day, Sakura had started the day just like the last. Rising from her bed, she helped her mother prepare breakfast and lunch, her father already outside tending to the farm. Finishing her own breakfast, she headed outside, a list of chores as long as her arm waiting to be done, herself eager to accomplish them all.

Everything carried on like it always did. As lunch approached, Sakura's mother brought out the sandwiches they had prepared earlier, Sakura and her father gathering around to eat their lunch. Finishing, her father asked her to head into the village to pick up some supplies. Taking the money her father gave her, Sakura headed over the low hill to the south of their home, the small village coming into view.

As Sakura entered the village, everything went berserk. Thundering into the village, several men on horseback with a caravan in tow began attacking anyone in their path. Men, women, even children fell to their blades. Anyone stupid enough to fight back was quickly killed.

It wasn't until one of the men grabbed her that Sakura realised she needed to escape. Kicking and screaming, Sakura was dragged over towards the caravan, the other men in the group already loading all the women and girls into it. Fighting hard to get away, the man dragging her turned to knock her out when several of the villagers ran out from behind a house and attacked the intruders. Releasing his grip on her, the man dragging Sakura leapt into the new fight, taking out a villager with his sword.

Sakura, watching the bloodshed unfold, realised she was free from the man's grip, and, not wasting any time quickly made to escape into the only option available to her, the forest. Afraid and desperate, Sakura had run for her life through the forest, wishing that everything would return to how it once was. That it would all be safe again.

Now sitting there across from her rescuer, a fire separating the small distance between them, Sakura's body started to tremble as all the emotions that had been suppressed finally broke free, tears beginning to fall from her eyes.

"If you need to cry, cry. Don't hold it in, it will only make it harder."

Flinching from the voice, Sakura raised her eyes to the man who spoke, his mask, while covering his face, clearing showed he was watching her. Quickly brushing away any tears to hide the evidence, Sakura tried to hide her emotions again.

"I... I wasn't..."

"What? Crying?" Interrupting her as she started sniffling, Wolf continued. "Of course you weren't. Those weren't tears, it was the rain." His voice heavy with sarcasm, he continued staring at her.

Shocked by his tone, Sakura shot up from her seat. "Listen damn it! I wasn't crying! I. Wasn't. Crying!" Fists clenched into balls at her side, her body tense, Sakura yelled at her saviour, tears falling again from her eyes, as he continued to watch her.

"Alright, alright. You weren't crying." Trying to placate her anger, Wolf continued. "I was mistaken. Now, please lower your voice and sit back down. It's time for dinner." Changing subject, Wolf reached into a pouch attached to his belt behind him, removing two bars.

"Sorry. All I've got are a couple of energy bars." Wolf handed one to Sakura. "I suppose it's better than nothing, right?" Peeling back the wrapping, Wolf quickly ate his, then watched Sakura carefully sniff, nibble, then eat the energy bar he gave her.

Watching her eat, he noted nothing out of the ordinary about the girl, except for two things. One was her pink hair that framed her face, falling down to just below her shoulders in length. Two was her jade green eyes.

_Why am I so fascinated by her hair and eyes?_ Questioning himself, Wolf took the wrapper from Sakura, then placed it and the wrapper from his dinner in his back pouch. Noting the look on Sakura's face, he explained that he'd properly dispose of them later. Now finished with dinner, Wolf went back to watching Sakura, focusing on her hair and eyes.

"Is there something on my face?" Touching her face, Sakura looked at Wolf questioningly.

_Well done. You were staring right at her, so how could she not notice you? _Chiding himself mentally, Wolf decided to tell the truth. "I was looking at your hair."

"My... hair?"

"Yeah. It's an... interesting colour."

"It... is?" Watching Sakura start to pull on some loose strands of hair, Wolf couldn't help but notice the worried look make its' way onto her face.

"Ahhh... I didn't mean that in a bad way." Seeing her question him with her eyes, he continued. "I like it that colour."

Hearing him compliment her, Sakura felt a small blush make its' way onto her cheeks. _'Why am I acting like this? All he did was say he liked my hair. He's just being nice._

"Thanks... Wolf." Smiling, Sakura shifted in her seat. "Umm... can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, go ahead." Wolf replied.

"You really can't tell me your real name, can you?"

"No, I can't."

"I suppose it doesn't matter that I really want to know?"

Looking at her, Wolf noticed several different emotions flash across Sakura's eyes. One emotion though, made him consider telling her.

"I suppose I can tell you, but on one condition." Wolf said as Sakura's face lit up. "You have to give me that kunai."

Following his finger, Sakura looked at the kunai that was in her hand, the one that she took from the ground earlier to defend herself with. Suppressed emotions started coming back to Sakura as she wrestled with the idea of giving back the kunai, that while of no real use in her hands, offered to her at least some protection.

"Ummmm..."

"I thought so." Sighing, Wolf stood up. "I'll keep watch, so you better get some sleep." Standing up, Wolf stepped over the log he was sitting on, then sat back down, his back to Sakura.

"Look, Wolf I..." Trying to explain herself, Sakura made to stand.

"Don't worry about, I understand. Just... just get some sleep." Hearing Wolf say that, Sakura knew the conversation was over.

Laying down on the ground near the fire, using her arm to rest her head, Sakura battled with the mixed emotions she was feeling about what happened that day and the ninja sitting a few feet from her, till darkness engulfed her senses and she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Walking through the forest, Sakura remained quiet as she followed Wolf back to her village. When she awoke a couple of hours earlier, she was shocked to find him gone. Quickly looking around the small clearing they camped in, she could not find her rescuer. Starting to panic, her emotions threatening to break down the wall holding back the tide, Sakura was at her feet ready to call out, when Wolf appeared from some bushes to the right of her, a dead rabbit in one hand and a bag of handpicked berries in the other.

Collapsing to the ground as relief swept her at not being abandoned, Sakura watched Wolf place the berries down in front of her, then work on skinning and cooking the rabbit.

"I'm sorry, it's not much, but they're all I could find around here along with the rabbit. I don't normally carry many rations when on short missions, so we'll have to make do." Looking up from the small fire he started, Wolf looked at her. "Don't hold back, you're going to need it, so eat up. And don't worry about me." Holding his hand up to silence Sakura before she could object, he went back to cooking the rabbit.

Opening the small bag, Sakura found that it was filled with many berries, and few different varieties making up the number. "They're all good, no poison." Looking up again a Wolf, Sakura cast him a look that had a small amount of disbelief in it. "Trust me. I tried them myself. The purple ones are really delicious." Looking back at the berries in the bag, Sakura heard her stomach grumble a bit.

"You better eat those up. We don't want that stomach of yours giving away our position if there are any more enemies in the area." Feeling her face heat up from her stomach embarrassing her, Sakura slowly started eating the berries. After trying all the different ones, she found herself agreeing with Wolf, the purple ones were the best.

Finishing the berries, Sakura gave the bag back to Wolf, starting on the meat that was cooked as Wolf handed her a makeshift plate of bark, the hot meal sending steam into the air inches above it. All done with the meal, Sakura stood to the side as Wolf cleaned the area of their presence, then satisfied, they were back on the path to her village.

Following him now, Sakura was in turmoil. A thousand different emotions were pulling at her from different directions, but the ones pertaining to the safety of her family and her saviour in front of her were the ones gaining most of her attention. She knew not to bring up what was said last night to Wolf. How she knew, she didn't know, she just knew that he didn't want to speak about it, and what was said, or not said, he didn't want to talk about at the moment.

This tore at Sakura, because she knew that without him she would be dead now, or worse. She trusted him, but obviously not enough to give him the kunai he wanted last night. She wanted to tell him he wasn't the reason she wouldn't give it back, that the reason she wanted to keep it was because even though she didn't know how to use it properly, at least with this in her hands she felt a little bit in control of the situation she was in. That if she gave the kunai back to him she would feel helpless, unable to do anything, and that her safety was in his hands.

And therein laid her problem. Even though she trusted him, she didn't trust him enough to give away her safety net to him. How could she say it wasn't him when a small part of it was clearly him? _I don't even know his name. Or even what he looks like underneath that mask. How can I trust someone I don't know? _

Examining Wolf for the hundredth time since they met, Sakura came to the same conclusion she did every time she looked at him. _I might not know his name. I may not even be able to see his face. What I do know though is that he wouldn't harm me. Something tells me I can trust Wolf._

Continuing their trek, Sakura noticed the trees and undergrowth start to thin out, the area becoming more recognisable as a sinking feeling hit her. Pulling up just at the tree line, Wolf crouched down motioning for Sakura to do the same. Moving alongside him, Sakura could see the outskirts of her village.

"I want you to listen to me Sakura." Speaking to her, even his whisper commanded attention. "I've thought of a plan. We're going to walk into the village together, myself disguised as the boss of this group, you my captive. We're going to go straight at the rest of these scumbags. Hopefully they won't realise their boss is a fake, so that I can get close enough to them with their guard down. Then I'll attack them, either capturing or neutralising them. When I attack, I want you to find someplace safe away from the fight and stay there. Don't come out till I call for you. Okay?"

Taking in his plan, Sakura nodded, uneasiness filling her eyes. "Don't worry okay? I know that it sounds dangerous, and believe me I'd rather you stay here. However, in order to get close enough to attack them, without them grabbing a hostage, I need you to help me on this. This way, no matter how many there are, I won't be hamstrung by having to consider hostages in the mix. So, you ready for this?"

Standing up, Wolf offered his hand to Sakura, helping her stand. "I understand Wolf. I trust you." Nodding to her, Wolf led Sakura out into the open, himself disguised as the boss.

"Before we get into the village Sakura, I want to warn you about what you're about to see. If the people in your village haven't been captured, then they've been killed. Their bodies are likely to be left wherever they were killed. Blood and other body parts are likely to be strewn everywhere. That's what happens in battle." Looking at her, Wolf could see on her face the battle of her emotions. "So, if you're going to cry or be sick at the sight, don't hold it back okay? Let it all out. It will help you cope, and I'm sorry to say this, but it'll make it our performance more convincing." Not hearing a reply, he continued with Sakura into the village.

* * *

Entering the village, Sakura could only think about how poorly Wolf had described the situation to her. In her eyes it was a thousand times worse. Blood was literally on every surface, pooling or congealing from the various wounds and cuts inflicted on the villagers that were caught in the slaughter caused by the animals that had attacked. And it wasn't just the blood. Body parts as well as internal organs littered the streets alongside the bodies they originated from, various animals starting to feast as the bodies were left where they were to rot, making the scene look like what Sakura pictured hell to be.

Passing the first house, smelling the death and decay way before her brain processed the sight before her, Sakura was down on her knees vomiting. Wolf, jolting from her sudden action but keeping his grip firm on her, partly to keep up the façade and also to let her know he was there, started to pick her back up.

"I know this is hard Sakura, and trust me, I'm having trouble dealing with this too, but we have to keep moving a little bit longer, okay?" Helping her to her feet, Sakura had started crying, tears streaming down her face, as she hunched over while Wolf helped her walk. Spotting the enemy ninja ahead, Wolf noted that there were only three there.

_Hmmm... I can't sense anyone else around. Judging by the number of horses, and that the caravan has two seats up front I would say that this is all of them. They don't look too strong. I should be able to get this over with quick._

Making a display of dragging Sakura towards the caravan, which wasn't too hard since she kept falling down every couple of metres at the sight before her, Wolf made it within earshot of the rest of the ninja.

"Hey Boss! Looks like the little bitch is giving you trouble. Just knock her out and drag her over here!"

"I would've, but I want the bitch to suffer after the shit she's put us through." Using the voice of their boss, Wolf continued, seeing the confused expressions on the enemies' faces. "We had her cornered in the forest after she escaped, but the little bitch had run into a Konoha Anbu."

Finally reaching them, Wolf held Sakura while she knelt on the ground sobbing. "The Anbu put up a fight, not wanting to let her go, deciding to do the right thing, or some shit like that. I managed to get him, but not before he killed Rico and the other two. I suppose that means more for us, right?" Smiling sadistically, Wolf looked past the scumbags to the women and children trapped in the cage that made up the rear end of the caravan.

"That's our Boss!" One of the ninja moved in closer to Wolf, making to grab Sakura. "No one can beat you. So how'd you do it?"

"Like this!" Shoving Sakura away from him, the henge Wolf used dropped as a kunai flashed into his right hand, only for it to become covered in blood as the ninja who was closest to Wolf fell to the ground, clutching the kunai imbedded in his heart. Before the second ninja could react to the sudden attack, Wolf was on him grabbing him by the throat, only to slam him into the ground, his spine breaking in several places as the pressure applied by the hand Wolf had on the ninja's neck crushed it.

The third ninja, who was sitting at the head of the caravan overlooking the area, was able to throw several kunai at Wolf, but as they neared him as he finished the second ninja on the ground Wolf vanished from sight reappearing behind the third ninja. A cough of blood escaped the ninja's mouth, the liquid running down his chin as Wolf retracted his hand from the man's stomach, replacing his bloodied kunai in his holster after cleaning it on the dead man's clothes.

Checking the area one more time, Wolf jumped down from the caravan, unsettled to see Sakura still on the ground where he shoved her, a blank expression adorning her face. "Sakura! Sakura, listen to me!" Slapping her, Wolf noted how slowly she turned to focus on him. "You're in shock. Keep breathing okay? In, out, in out. Do this for me, okay? In, out, in, out." Seeing her start to breath at the pace he set, Wolf got up. "I'm going to get the women and children out of the cage. Stay here, I'll be right back."

Watching Wolf run over to the cage, Sakura was breathing like he told her too. Looking around her though, she couldn't stop the pain in her heart or the tears in her eyes. Spotting another friend of hers on the ground in a bloodied heap, that's when Sakura realised something. She hadn't seen the two people that mattered most to her.

Struggling to stand, her body feeling like jelly from the shock, she started slowly walking in one direction instinctively, more than once stumbling only to regain her balance, willing herself to continue, hoping against hope that they were alright. Moving out of the village, Sakura stumbled again as she ascended the small hill, the journey feeling like she was climbing something more like ten thousand feet high. Reaching the crest, she fell to her knees, fresh pain raking her body, tears staining her face uncontrollably at the sight before her.

Releasing the women and children from the cage, Wolf was met with hugs, kisses, thank yous, tears, even applause, from the prisoners of the scum that attacked their village. He knew though that being released from captivity was small consolation considering the damage that was done to this village. His once stoic face began to crumble as the sight only intensified with the mourning that was occurring before him. Luckily for him his Anbu mask hid the anguish that slowly crept its way onto his face.

"You guys took you're time." Turning around, Wolf greeted a full Anbu squad and two medic teams.

"We got here as soon as we got your message Wolf. Update?" The captain of the Anbu squad, Bear, listened as Wolf relayed the events up til now.

"In short, the ninja who did this are all dead, but this village took a heavy loss. I would suggest you medics get to work quick instead of waiting for orders." Snapping out the last part, Wolf watched as the medic ninja started treating the women and children. "Can you also get another squad of Anbu here? These people can't stay here. They'll need to be taken to Konoha. The sooner we can move them the better. Send a message to the Hokage asking her to grant refugee status for all the survivors also." Saluting Bear, Wolf started to move through the crowd of women and children.

"What about..."

"My full report can wait til later Bear. Right now I've got some business to take care of." Moving through the victims, Wolf sought out Sakura. _I left her right around her. Where is she? _As he continued his search, a distant scream alerted him. Bolting straight in the direction of the scream, Wolf topped a small hill on the outskirts of the village, the sight before him one of destruction.

Running down towards the burnt out wreckage of a moderate sized home and barn house, Wolf saw three bodies lying outside the house, two bloodied and burnt, the other shaking as it lay over the female body. Reaching Sakura, Wolf was glad to see she was physically unharmed. Reaching down, he grabbed her left shoulder attempting to pull her away from the dead body.

"Sakura?"

"No."

"Sakura."

"No!"

"Sakura, please?"

"Nooooooo!" Turning her head around, Sakura screamed at Wolf, her face covered in tears, blood, and soot from the smoke. Grabbing her, Wolf pulled her into a hug, holding her tight to him. Screaming, kicking, biting and punching, Sakura tried to fight her way out of Wolf's grip until she couldn't fight anymore and cried into his chest. Her body became limp as she slid to the ground, Wolf holding her as gently and comfortingly as he could.

Kneeling there, Wolf heard Bear come up behind him. "Can you organise someone to come and bury the bodies Bear? I would do it, but I can't at the moment."

"Sure thing Wolf." Bear moved over to the woman's body, slowly picking her up in his arms.

"Nooooooo!" Escaping from Wolf's grip, Sakura launched herself at the body, attempting to drag it away from Bear. Wolf moved quickly grabbing Sakura again before she could go any further.

"They're gone Sakura!" Yelling at her, Wolf grabbed her in a hug again. "They're gone. There's nothing you can do. They're gone." Feeling her go limp again in his arms, Wolf continued. "We have to bury them. We can't leave them as they are. We have to bury them, Sakura, that way they can be a peace. It hurts, I know, so just cry. I'm here Sakura." Holding her, Wolf hugged Sakura as she cried, until, exhausted, she fell asleep. Gently lifting her in his arms, Wolf then turned around and walked back to where the others villagers were, leaving behind smoking ruins of Sakura's home.

* * *

The women and children were walking in a group down the road, their past left behind in a haze of smoke and blood, ahead of them a new life in Konoha as they set out after midday. Mixed in amongst them were the two squads of medic-nin, still healing the many physical wounds with their hands while they talked to the survivors in hopes of mending the mental wounds. All around them the two Anbu squads spread themselves out in a defensive perimeter as they lead the refugees to Konoha.

Standing at the entrance to the now destroyed village, Sakura watched the group head to Konoha. Beside her stood Wolf, who had let her sleep for several hours before waking her for the trip. Noting that he hadn't said a word to her since he woke her up, Sakura decided to leave him alone as she took in the sight of her village once more.

"I don't think I'll ever get over this pain. Just looking at it now makes me want to curl up into a ball and forget the world." Noticing that she was crying again, Sakura wiped her eyes with the back of her hands.

"You've only been asleep for several hours, so I wouldn't expect it would be that quick to get over what you've been through. You'll have to deal with it every day, and eventually, little by little, you'll be able to accept it. However, even that will not truly erase the pain. It'll be your ability to live, to live for yourself and in honour of all those that you remember, that will enable you to cope with the pain. Because living for yourself makes you strong, but living for others, for those you care about, that makes you stronger."

Turning to face Wolf, Sakura smiled at the man, her saviour. Moving alongside him, Sakura started walking along the path to her new home. "Thank you. So, we'll be able to continue in Konoha?"

"Yes, the Hokage has given you all refugee status, so when you arrive, you will be taken care of. Food, clothes, a home, a job, it'll all be setup so you can start your lives again."

"I see." Noting the sad tone, Wolf looked at Sakura.

"I know you don't want to hear this now, but things will get better. You just can't give up no matter what."

Looking at Wolf as he spoke, Sakura stopped walking. "Do you think that maybe once I've settled in, that I'd be able to start training to become a ninja?"

Turning to face her, Wolf noted the slight seriousness in her tone. "Sure, I don't see why not."

"Okay then. I won't be needing this if that's the case." Stepping towards him, Sakura held out the kunai she had to Wolf.

"Keep it." Watching Wolf push it away, Sakura became confused.

"Isn't this what you wanted?" Seeing Wolf nod in agreement, Sakura continued. "But this is what you wanted. Your kunai back. You asked me for it to test me, I know you did now. And now I have the answer. You can have it back."

"So you realised I was testing you. Good. But do you know what I was testing you for?"

"To... to see if I trusted you?"

"Exactly. I wanted to see if you would trust me, a person you just met. I wanted to know if you trusted me enough to give up the kunai, to give away your safety net, and take a leap of faith. You failed both times. But, sometimes it is better to fail than to succeed. After all, the moment you gave me the kunai, I could've slit your throat because you were now defenceless."

"But, you're an Anbu, so wouldn't you be able to kill me even if I had the kunai?"

"Ah-hah! Now I think she's got it."

"Wait. So does that mean you didn't want the kunai back? That you only asked me for it back to see if I was silly enough to put one hundred percent of my faith in you!"

"Well, you could certainly look at it that way. I might have been testing you to see if you were silly enough to put your faith in someone you only just met, whose face you hadn't seen and whose name you didn't know. Or, I prefer to think of it as testing you to see if you were a good judge of character. You know? Putting your trust in the right people."

"I see, so it becomes a question of if I can trust the right person? You definitely don't want your kunai back?"

"Nope, you keep it. Consider it a gift." Turning side on from Sakura, Wolf rested his gaze on the other villagers travelling down the road.

"If that's the case, then I offer your kunai back to you. Thank you for allowing me to use it." Head bowed, Sakura had her hands outstretched with the kunai in them. Looking down at it, Wolf let a small smile creep onto his face.

"Well, if you're so insistent, I'll take back my kunai." Taking the kunai, Wolf put it back in his kunai pouch. " However, now I feel that I owe you something in return for the kunai." Resting his chin in his right hand, Wolf adopted a thinking pose.

"Please, you don't have to give me anything. You've already done so much for me."

"Nonsense. You gave me back my kunai, so I will give you something in return. And I know just what to give you." Grabbing Sakura by the elbow, Wolf led her off the road into the beginning of the forest. "What I'm about to give you is a highly classified secret that you can absolutely tell nobody about, okay?"

"Okay." Nodding her head at the same time, Sakura waited for Wolf to continue. Watching him, Sakura noticed that his hands were reaching up to his mask, then before she realised it, his mask was gone, exposing the face of a boy not much older than her, his hair blond and spiky. What got her attention though were the six whisker-like marks, three on each side of his face, and the deep blue eyes that were looking at her.

"This is my gift in return Sakura. You and I meeting by face and name. I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Pleased to meet you." Holding out his hand, Sakura shook it, a small blush making its way onto her cheeks. "So, do you like my gift?"

"Yes Naruto. Thank you for showing me your face and telling me your name. I won't break my promise."

"I know you won't Sakura." Replacing his mask on his face, Naruto led Sakura back onto the path. "Well, this is where we part ways for now. Just so you remember, if you ever see me hoping around with my mask on refer to me as Wolf. And since we aren't supposed to know each other face to face, you better act like you don't know me initially, okay?"

"Okay."

"You better hurry along to catch up to the others. You don't want to get lost now after all you've been through." Chuckling a little at his joke, Naruto disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving a slightly irritated Sakura to catch up to the other villagers as they headed to the ninja village of Konoha.

* * *

Reviews, comments, error correction welcome. Thanks for reading.


	2. Story status

So, as I said in the first chapter, I have some explaining to do.

This story I originally wrote as a prologue to a much bigger story. I was going to follow Naruto and Sakura about a year after their first meeting. They'd be put in the same team, Team 7, and eventually fall in love while battling the threat of the Akatsuki. There would of been some minor conflicts and plot devices around this, but that's the general gist of it. I also planned for Naruto and the rest of the Rookie Nine to be about 2 years older than Sakura, so she would of been the youngest out of all the characters. Oh, and it wouldn't of really followed any of the Naruto canon in terms of timeline, but there would of been some events that I modified to be in this story.

I actually started writing some of the first chapter for this continuation, but I just never finished it. I got slack and thought of other stories and just never came back to this one. It's a shame really but I suppose that happens. Now that I've also edited the story again, I find that there are some major parts I want to rewrite, but I've decided to leave it as is (with the minor corrections) cause there are other things to do and I don't want to change this story to much (I want to preserve it as is).

In the interest of explaining myself also, the reason I'm posting this info is because I feel that the people who read this, you, might like to know why the story only seems like a beginning, and what I intended to do with it. Here's the little blurb I did about the rest of the story:

_Her village attacked by rogue ninjas, Haruno Sakura finds herself rescued by an Anbu from Konoha. Now starting over in the village of Konoha, she trains hard on the path to becoming a ninja herself, gaining the attention of the Hokage of the village, Tsunade the Slug Sannin. But the Hokage isn't the only one to take an interest in the newest recruit of the village. Learning the skills of a medic-nin, Sakura gets drafted into the infamous Team 7, where she is reunited with her rescuer Wolf, who is the village outcast, Uzumaki Naruto, a person shunned and hated his whole life. This is because Naruto holds a dark secret that will change the fate of the nation. He is a jinchuuriki, a person with a demon sealed within, and the demon is strongest of the nine tailed beasts, the harbringer of destruction, the feared Kyuubi no Kitsune._

_Now Akatsuki, a group comprised of powerful ninja, are seeking out all the jinchuuriki, collecting the tailed beasts they contain, their next target: Naruto. As Konoha scrambles to find a solution to the rising threat of war, Team 7 readies itself for the inevitable conflict and with Akatsuki closing in, will Naruto and Sakura be able to survive the journey of love, betrayal and death?_

Sounds good, right? Another important thing I forgot to add was that I've changed the rating of this story from M to T. I was unsure before about the rating of this story, but after editing the chapter I think it would go well as being classified T.

Also, here's the little story I did about Sakura when she was much older. It was meant as a side-story/omake that I had fun with.

"Speaking current tense"

_Thinking current tense_

This is fanfic. I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Exploding from the top of the trees, Raven briefly glided through the air. Below her a small clearing could be seen. Scanning the clearing she saw that the caravans, five wagons of different sizes, was stopped, the men dying as they protected their families that were in the caravans as the bandits attacked. Watching one bandit almost cleave a man in two with his sword as the man protected his family, Raven knew who she would eliminate first.

Flipping once in mid-air, changing her course as she did so, Raven pointed herself into a dive, the height she was at and gravity itself increasing her speed as she aimed at her target. The bandit getting closer, Raven pulled back her right arm, her hand cocked in a punch, as she made it closer to the ground. Watching the man intently, Raven remained unnoticed by everyone in the clearing, the bandit turning around as he heard something flying through the air, the whites of his eyes growing larger as he saw something he didn't expect. His death.

Raven let a smirk appear on her usually stoic face. _Surprise!_

A loud explosion sounded through the area as the bandits all looked over at the source of the impact, a huge cloud of dust rising up from near one of the wagons. Retracting her fist from the crushed skull of the now dead bandit as he lay buried in the ground, Raven used the makeshift smokescreen of dust to check her targets.

_Seven, eight, nine, ten bad guys. This shouldn't be too hard._

Yelling from shock at the explosion, the leader of the bandits ordered his men to check what happened. Moving warily three men approached the now dispersing dust cloud, trying to see what could have happened, only to fall to the ground lifeless as a kunai embedded itself in each of their heads. Reacting fast the leader readied to bellow orders, only to have a blur explode from the dust, a masked face with pink hair right on him.

Reaching the leader before he could organise his men, Raven punched him in the face with a straight right, the crack of a broken nose confirming her hit, the man impacting with a tree. Continuing her assault, Raven released several kunai at the slumping form, the weapons piercing his limbs pinning them to the now broken tree.

Satisfied, Raven spun on her feet, ducking as a sword sliced through the air above her. Pulling back both arms, she released a twin-punch on the man, the pressure from the impact crushing the abdomen and shattering the spine as the body flew through the air several feet crashing onto the ground. Moving quickly, Raven killed two more bandits as they raced into attack her, their faces showing that they weren't ready for someone as fast as her, a kunai in the neck and a crushed chest ending their lives.

Getting back into a ready stance, Raven noted the last three bandits look at her then turn and flee into the forest. _Oh no you don't._ Shooting off from her spot she re-entered the forest, the men only making it a few feet before she was on them, the fact they were close to each other making it too easy. Landing in front of them the bandit at the front soared through the air several feet before landing in a lifeless mess on the ground, the men on either side of him dead as they fell to the ground as well, a kunai in each of their skulls.

Reappearing before the leader of bandits, Raven noted he was still alive. Standing in front of him she watched impassively as the man screamed and yelled at the pain only for him to focus on her, the insults beginning.

"You bitch! You broke my nose! When I get down from here I going to fucking kill you!" Listening to the man rant about killing, raping and subjecting her to all different types of torture, Raven adopted a relaxed stance, her left hand held up as it's fingers and thumb retracted into a fist as she counted down from five.

"Demon whore!" Hearing those two words amongst the torrent of insults Raven forgot the counting, hitting the man with a chakra-infused punch, the tree exploding from the force of the impact, blood filling the air as the now dead bandit leader skidded to a halt on the ground fifty metres from where Raven stood, the body a mess of broken bones and blood.

Turning away from the origin of her anger, Raven moved towards the wagons. "You're all safe now. The bandits are dead." Coming to a stop, she noted the fearful expressions on the survivors faces as they looked out from where they were hiding. "You have nothing to fear. I'm an Anbu of Konoha. I won't harm you." Turning to face down the road that ran through the clearing and on into the forest, she pointed along the path.

"Konoha is just a day away. There should be a team of Konoha ninja here shortly to escort you the rest of the way. I'm sorry for your losses." Bending her knees, Raven jumped into the trees, putting on a burst of speed to get away from the area.

_Damn it!_ Flying through the trees, Raven felt a tear slide down her cheek as she made her way back to the village. _I wasn't fast enough! Once again people have suffered because of my lack of skill. _Stopping on a tree branch as she looked over a small clearing that had a river running through it, Raven's inner anguish continued till she reached one thought.

Why am I so damned to fail when it matters most?

* * *

As you can probably tell I was really into it at the time, but I didn't get anywhere with it. I hope this has been a good read, and that this turn of events isn't too disappointing for those that were waiting for the rest of the story. Just to make it clear, I am not continuing this story. It pains me to say it, but I can't finish it. It's just been too long, and I have other ideas I want to explore. However, if someone was wanting to adopt this story and continue it, I wouldn't be against it. Ofcourse I would want to make sure they can do it justice and I would provide what input I could. So if someone thinks they are up for it, just message me and we'll talk about it.

Apart from that, check out my other stories if you like what you've read. Reviews, comments, error correction welcome. Thanks for reading.


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